DRAGON CHRONICLE
Softball Records Three More Wins
The softball team continues to compete with just three regular season games remaining.
By Abby Jo Williams, staff writer
April 28, 2016
The Cortland softball team’s overall record is now 25-9 after this week’s games against four different opponents.
On Tuesday the Red Dragons traveled to Pittsford, NY and faced St. John Fisher.
The Cardinals swept the non-league doubleheader with a score of 4-3 in the first game and a score of 7-1.
In the first game Cortland’s senior Carrie Stoddard singled with bases loaded to give the Red Dragons and 3-0 lead. It wasn’t until the fifth inning until the Cardinals regained the lead.
In the second matchup Cortland took the lead with a run made by senior Jamie Bucci.
St. John Fisher dominated most of this game after that ending with 7 runs and a sweep of the Red Dragons.
After losing to the nationally ranked Cardinals the Red Dragons were then traveling to compete against the 23rd ranked Ithaca Bombers.
Although games were close, a ranked team again swept Cortland with the first game ending in 2-0 and the second finishing with a score of 1-0.
Junior Alexandrea Flint and freshman Sam Van Dorn allowed only two hits in the first game.
In the second game junior pitcher Jamie Lachell now 6-5 gave up four hits and no walks.
The game remained scoreless until Ithaca’s Kelly Robichaud hit a walk-off home run at the bottom of the seventh inning to give them the lead and the win.
The Red Dragons swept both doubleheaders against league rivals Plattsburgh and Potsdam on Friday and Saturday.
Cortland defeated Plattsburgh 11-3 in the first game.
In the first game against Plattsburgh Cortland opened up with four runs scored in the bottom of the first to give them a lead that never went away.
Latchall allowed three hits and three runs in six innings and improved to 7-5.
Bucci and junior Kaleigh Chuchill each contributed two runs while seven other Red Dragons also reached home base.
During the second game Flint improved to 10-2. She retired the first 10 batters she saw before letting Plattsburgh’s Amanda Tantillo one-out double in the fourth. Flint finished with two strikeouts and one walk while Van Dorn recorded a 1-2-3 at the top of the sixth and fanned one batter. Junior Niki Barbato scored three runs in game to help lead the Red Dragons to victory.
On Saturday the Red Dragons took on the Potsdam Bears in another league game.
Cortland won the opener 4-2 and swept the doubleheader with a 8-0 finish.
Senior Diane Cork had a day and became the sixth player in school history to reach 200 career hits. Cork also broke the school record for career walks.
On Sunday the Cortland softball team split the non-league double header with Rochester.
In the first game Lachall allowed one run, had three strikeouts and zero walks to improve to 9-5.
Bucci, Cork and Barbato combined seven for nine with seven RBI and six runs all scored which left the game getting called because of the eight rule.
Finishing the first game with a score of 9-1.
In the second game Flint allowed six hits in two innings and Van Dorn allowed no runs over the next four innings until the seventh when two runs were scored.
The Yellow Jackets shut out the Red Dragons and defeated them with a score of 6-0. Cortland had two successful hits by sophomore Andrea Schoonmaker and Junior Mikayla Shade.
The Red Dragons will travel to Oneonta for a doubleheader matchup on Friday.
Women’s Lacrosse Notches Top Seed
The women’s lacrosse team gained two more wins versus Buffalo State and Geneseo to help secure the top seed in the SUNYAC conference.
By Tyler Byrne, staff writer
April 28, 2016
The women’s lacrosse team continues to succeed this season as they clinched the top seed in the SUNYAC conference after defeating Buffalo State 20-6.
The Red Dragons ended the week with a home game against Buffalo State.
It was a big day for the offense and junior Kristen Ohberg and senior Tara Monaghan led the way again.
Ohberg set a Cortland record with eight assists in the game and added three goals as well.
Monaghan scored five time pushing her career total to 211, which is third on Cortland's all time list. The 20-6 victory clinched the top seed in the SUNYAC tournament and set Cortland up nicely for another National Championship run.
The week started with a tough road game at Geneseo.
It was a milestone day for Ohberg as she eclipsed the 100-career assists mark.
Ohberg had six points on the day, three goals and three assists that really propelled Cortland to the victory.
Monaghan continued her dominance on the field picking up six goals and adding to her already record breaking season.
“We just seem to find each other out there. It is a fast paced game and nobody can play faster than us,” said Monaghan.
The girls are averaging 19.5 goals per game and allowing less than eight per game.
“We don't get all of the glory, but stopping other teams from scoring is just as important as scoring ourselves. We stay together and play as one unit on defense and that leads to good results,” said senior Colleen Wright.
Cortland led 11-0 at one point and the 16-4 final score was the 16th time this season they have won by double digits.
The women’s lacrosse team now has an overall record of 15-0 as they go into their last SUNYAC conference regular season game versus New Paltz on Saturday.
Baseball Wins SUNYAC Title
The Red Dragons took a three game weekend conference sweep over Oswego to improve to 31-5 overall while clinching the regular season title.
By Annie Choiniere, staff writer
April 28, 2016
With just three regular season games remaining, the Cortland baseball team is looking to take their win streak into postseason.
The sweep over Oswego earned them the right to host the four-team SUNYAC tournament May 6-8.
In the first game of the series on Friday, senior Seth Lamando earned his seventh win of the season in the 8-1 victory.
Lamando threw a five hitter with eight strikeouts.
The only run he allowed came in the fifth inning on a solo home run.
Freshman Paul Dondero led the offense, going 3-for-5 with two RBI.
Dondero opened the scoring in the first inning with a solo home run.
Senior Conrad Ziemendorf also finished 3-for-5.
Cortland added solo runs in the third and fourth innings, four more in the sixth and one more insurance run in the eighth inning to close out the scoring.
In the seven-inning opening game of the doubleheader, Cortland took a 3-1 victory over the Oswego Lakers on Saturday.
Cortland and Oswego traded zeroes through the first three innings before the Red Dragons broke the tie with three runs in the top of the fourth.
Senior Fabio Ricci hit a two-run single through the left side and the third run scored on a passed ball.
Junior Jeff Cooke earned the win with a complete game performance, allowing just one run.
In the final game of the series, the Red Dragons earned an exciting 7-2 win.
The Red Dragons and the Lakers carried a 2-2 tie into the ninth inning.
With one out in the top of the ninth, the Red Dragons loaded the bases.
Sophomore Justin Teague hit an RBI single, driving in the go ahead run.
Cortland added four more runs in the inning on a two-run double from junior Nick Hart and a two-run single by Ziemendorf.
Oswego was unable to gain any runs back in the bottom of the inning.
Senior Turner Parry earned the win with two and two thirds innings of relief, retiring the side in order in both the eighth and ninth innings.
The win noted the 12th straight year Cortland has reached the 30-win mark.
Cortland will complete the regular season next week before hosting the SUNYAC tournament.
Softball Defeats Oswego In Doubleheader
The Red Dragons improved their overall record to 20-4 after winning five of their six games played last week.
By Sam Kobylar, staff writer
April 21, 2016
The softball team defeated Oswego in a doubleheader matchup last week in conference play.
“It became a little stressful not knowing when we could play or having to miss classes in order to make up games, but it was great to have the extra time to prepare,” said junior first baseman Mikayla Shade after having many rain delays.
“We were able to use the extra days to polish up and get ready for the next game ahead.”
Cortland softball swept Oswego in two high scoring games.
The Red Dragons got off to a hot start in game two of the doubleheader, which was an 11-5 victory over Oswego.
Cortland put up five runs on the scoreboard in the first inning and all nine batters had an at-bat in that first inning.
Junior Kaleigh Churchill and sophomore Jamie Corradina each had an RBI double in the inning. Sophomore Andrea Schoonmaker joined in on the first inning rally with a two-run double with Shade chipping in an RBI single.
After giving up one run in the bottom of the second inning, the Red Dragons got that run right back in the next half inning with an RBI single from senior captain Carrie Stoddard.
Cortland eventually extended their lead to 7-1 in the top of the fifth inning with an RBI single from Corradina.
Red Dragon starting pitcher Jamie Lachall was cruising in this game until she hit a little bump in the road in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Lachall gave up three runs in the inning, but completed the inning and the game allowing just five runs total, eight hits and one strikeout in the 11-5 victory over Oswego.
The Red Dragons defeated Oswego in the first game of the doubleheader 9-7.
Cortland scored four runs in the second inning with four hits.
Junior Rosie Phillips got the Red Dragons on the board with a two-run double.
Senior captain Jamie Bucci and junior Niki Barbato each had RBI singles later in the inning to give Cortland an early 4-0 lead.
The Red Dragons got an insurance run in the top of the sixth inning with an RBI double from Shade to extend the Cortland lead to 7-4.
Oswego fought back in the next half inning scoring three runs.
Oswego had five hits in the inning including a two-run single to make the score 7-6 and a game tying sacrifice fly.
The Red Dragons took the lead in the top of the seventh inning as Cortland scored two runs.
Leading off the inning, senior Erin Wolstenholme gave her team the lead with a solo home run.
“The team's chemistry this year is one of the best I've been a part of,” said Wolstenholme.
“We all get along really well off the field and that helps us a lot on the field. There is an incredible sense of trust in any situation we come across.”
The Red Dragons split a double header last Thursday against Fredonia.
The Red Dragons were on the short end of the second game of the double header as Fredonia defeated Cortland 7-5.
Fredonia got off to a hot start in this game as Fredonia scored three runs in the first inning with a solo home run and a two-run home run off to give Fredonia the early 3-0 lead.
After two scoreless innings, outfielder Diane Cork led off the inning with a solo home run to cut the deficit to three runs. With one out in the inning, first baseman Carrie Stoddard hit a two-run single to get Cortland within one run of Fredonia.
Fredonia took the game way in the bottom of the sixth inning putting up two more runs.
The Red Dragons scored one run in the seventh inning, but wasn’t enough to get the win.
Fredonia defeated Cortland 7-5.
“We’re in a good spot this season with a solid record and we’re hoping to improve it this week,” said junior pitcher Alexandrea Flint.
“As a team we have a lot of goals this season and we’re looking forward to competing with any team we come across. We’ve worked really hard to get to this point in the season, but we still have a lot of games ahead of us that we’re looking forward to competing in.”
Men’s Lacrosse Continues Four Game Win Streak
The Red Dragons improved to 7-5 overall after destroying Potsdam and Oswego.
By Mike Daddino, staff writer
April 21, 2016
The men’s lacrosse team had a dominant 17-6 win over Potsdam last Saturday.
Cortland has won five of their last games to improve to 7-5 on the year.
The Red Dragons have scored 39 goals in the last two games.
“The offense has been clicking the past few weeks and the defense has been playing great,” said sophomore Ryan Mahon.
Senior Zach Hopps led the Red Dragons on Saturday scoring four goals.
Mahon scored three goals and sophomore Nate Beresovoy had two goals and three assists.
Beresovoy continues to enjoy his sophomore campaign as he now has 33 points in 12 games.
Hopps leads the club with 39 points.
The Red Dragons dominated the faceoff circle led by senior Pat Baldwin who won 16-20 face-offs and senior Gino Prestigiacomo who was a perfect 6-6.
The Red Dragons went into half time with a 10-2 lead.
Potsdam fell to 9-3 overall record with the loss.
The Red Dragons utterly dominated Oswego on Wednesday as they won the game easy, 22-4.
Beresovoy scored four goals and two assists which was a new career high for points in a game.
Senior David Phelps scored three goals and had two assists in the blowout win.
Senior Ethan Printy and Junior Andrew Gonzales both scored two
goals as well.
Hopps, who has five points as well, continued his sensational career at Cortland now holding 248 points in his collegiate career.
This moved Hopps into second place all time for Cortland.
The Red Dragons jumped to an early 9-1 lead in the first quarter and never took a breath as they dominated from start to finish.
Oswego fell to 4-7 overall on the year.
The Red Dragons will face Plattsburgh on Saturday.
Baseball on Six-Game Win Streak
The Red Dragons scored 48 runs over the last five games to improve to a 27-5 overall record and a 10-4 record in conference play.
By Annie Choiniere, staff writer
April 21, 2016
The Cortland baseball team completed a three-game weekend sweep over visiting Plattsburgh on Sunday, taking a 14-3 victory.
Twelve different players recorded a hit as part of a 19-hit attack, led by freshman Marcos Perivolaris who went 3-for-4 with two doubles and an RBI and sophomore Patrick Schetter who finished 3-for-5 with a triple, double, two RBI and two runs scored.
"This weekend was good not just because we got three conference wins, but because we played more how we should be playing. We swung the bats better and got some good pitching performances," said senior Connor Griffin.
The Red Dragons took a 10-0 lead into the fifth inning before giving up single runs in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings to the Cardinals.
Cortland's starting pitcher, freshman Kashaun Curry, earned the victory with four scoreless innings of work.
The Red Dragons played a doubleheader against the Cardinals on Saturday, recording 15 hits in each game.
In game one, the Red Dragons won 11-4 scoring in each of the first six innings.
Senior Seth Lamando earned his sixth win of the season, allowing just four hits and recorded seven strikeouts.
Senior Conrad Ziemendorf went 3-for-4, with seniors Fabio Ricci and Griffin each going 2-for-3 to lead the offense.
In game two, Plattsburgh struck first, but Cortland took a 12-3 win.
Cortland answered with two runs in the bottom of the inning to take the lead for the remainder of the game.
The Red Dragons exploded for nine runs over the fourth and fifth innings due to RBI's from freshman Paul Dondero, sophomore Patrick Schetter, Ziemendorf and Ricci.
Junior Jeff Cooke threw a complete game at the seven-inning nightcap, striking out four and did not walk anyone.
Cortland edged out Ithaca in a non-league matchup last Thursday, 4-3.
Junior Steven Figueroa singled in the go ahead run in the top of the sixth to take the lead.
The Bombers outhit the Red Dragons 9-6, but failed to capitalize on some important scoring opportunities.
Senior Turner Parry earned the save with three scoreless innings and struck out six batters.
Cortland began the week earlier with a 7-5 win over Rochester. Griffin and Ricci led the 13-hit attack.
Rochester took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first, but Cortland quickly answered with three runs in the bottom of the inning.
After breaking a 3-3 tie in the fifth inning, the Red Dragons never trailed again.
Cortland will travel to Oswego for a three-game conference series this weekend.
"As we finished up conference play and head towards the postseason, we want to be playing our best baseball," said Griffin.
Men's Lacrosse Defeats Union
The men’s lacrosse team pulled out a win versus Union last Wednesday.
By Mike Daddino, staff writer
April 14, 2016
Junior T.J deLyra scored three goals leading the men’s lacrosse team to a 10-7 victory over Union.
The Red Dragons outscored Union 6-2 in the second half to secure the win.
The men’s lacrosse team improved to 5-5 on the 2016 campaign while the Dutchmen fell to 6-4.
Senior Ethan Printy and sophomore Ryan Mahon both chipped in two goals for the Red Dragons, while senior Connor Johnston hit career-high four points, scoring a goal to go along with his three assists.
Sophomore goalie Joe Scalise shoved aside seven shots.
Pat Baldwin won 14-19 face-offs (73%) and collected 12 ground balls.
“It was a great team win and were starting to play as a team more and more after each game,” said Johnston.
Junior Peter Richardson led Union scoring two goals.
Junior Daniel Kycia added a goal and an assist and senior Thomas Stanton added two assists.
The Red Dragons came out firing in this game taking a 4-0 lead in the first 15 minutes of play.
DeLyra scored two of his three goals in this span.
The Dutchmen then went on a 5-0 run to end the half with five different players scoring goals.
This game continued to be a nail biter throughout as the Red Dragons were clinging to an 8-7 lead with 1:30 remaining in the game.
Mahon and Richardson scored goals separated by just 27 seconds to clinch the win for the Red Dragons.
“Moving forward I believe this is a very talented team that hasn't quite shown that yet. However, when the tournament roles around I believe we'll be ready to make a run,” said Printy.
The Red Dragons will look to keep it rolling on Saturday versus Potsdam.
Baseball Splits Doubleheader with Onoenta
The Red Dragons suffered an extra inning 3-2 loss in game one, but blanked Oneonta 2-0 in game two of the doubleheader on Sunday.
By Annie Choiniere, staff writer
April 14, 2016
After a doubleheader split with league rival, Oneonta, the nationally second ranked Cortland baseball team moved to 22-5 overall and 7-4 in SUNYAC play.
Game one featured a pitcher’s duel between senior Seth Lamando and Oneonta starter Thomas Bond, but both received no decisions.
Each starter threw nine innings.
Lamando allowed four hits and one unearned run, while striking out eight with no walks.
Senior Turner Parry took the loss after giving up two hits and two runs in two and two thirds innings of work.
Cortland and Oneonta each scored a run in the second inning, but neither team saw a runner reach past third base for the next nine innings.
Cortland took the go ahead run in the top of the 12th inning when the umpires reversed a call, which allowed the run to score.
Oneonta came back strong in the bottom half of the 12th, opening the inning with a single.
Runners advanced to second and third on a hit by pitch and a passed ball.
A double play allowed one run to score and an RBI single through the left side ended the game at 3-2.
Junior Nick Hart had the strongest offensive performance, finishing 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI for Cortland.
Juniors Ben Moxley and Jeff Cooke combined for a four-hit shutout in game two.
Moxley started the game, but was pulled due to apparent injury.
Cooke took over in the third inning and only allowed one base runner through the remainder of the game.
Senior Fabio Ricci started the top of the second inning with a walk and eventually came around to score on a double from Matt Personius.
Ricci also scored Cortland's second run in the sixth inning, reaching home after a wild throw.
Cortland's three hits came from Ricci, Personius, and senior Conrad Ziemendorf.
Cortland will travel to Ithaca on Thursday for a non-league matchup.
Women's Lacrosse Crushes Potsdamn
The Red Dragons defeated Potsdam in a SUNYAC matchup improving their no loss streak to 10.
By Shayne Martinez, staff writer
April 14, 2016
The women’s lacrosse team keeps the ball rolling as they pummel Potsdam 21-7 in SUNYAC play last Tuesday.
The nationally ranked Red Dragons remain undefeated with a 10-0 record just slightly past the midpoint of the season.
History was made when sophomore Hannah Elmer earned her 100th career goal and became the 43rd player in Cortland women’s lacrosse history to reach such a feat.
Elmer’s career-high eight points on four goals and four assists were a feat in itself, contributing to almost 40% of Cortland’s point total.
Seniors Ashley Gentile and Tara Monaghan also provided a helping hand with the score total.
Gentile converted four goals to go along with two assists and Monaghan netted four goals herself.
The offensive team contributions did not stop there for Cortland. Seven other lady Red Dragons tallied points in the box score.
Junior Kristen Ohberg finished with three goals and three assists.
Senior Elizabeth LaComb provided Cortland with three goals as well.
Seniors Elise Bennett and Nicole Bello and sophomore Megan Gonzalez each netted one goal apiece.
Sophomore Katie Wolfe and junior Allyson McNerney earned one assist for the Red Dragons.
Cortland more than doubled the total amount of shots taken as they took 48 compared to Potsdam’s 17.
The Red Dragons almost quadrupled the amount of draw controls than the Bears, a 23-6 disparity.
Due to a postponement of an April 9 matchup against Geneseo, Cortland will face Oneonta next on April 12.
Baseball Beats Brockport Twice
The Red Dragons have an overall record of 21-4 at this point in the season.
By Sam Kobylar, staff writer
April 7, 2016
Cortland baseball faced Brockport three times this past weekend, winning two out of the three games.
“As reigning National Champions it was key that we got off to a hot start because we have a target on our backs and know that we’re going to get every team’s best game that day,” said senior outfielder Fabio Ricci.
The Red Dragons lost a tight game to Brockport, 6-5.
Cortland had a 5-1 lead heading into the bottom of the eighth inning, but Brockport rallied back into the game scoring five runs in the inning.
Pitcher Tanner Whiteman only allowed one earned run and eight hits throughout the first seven innings of the game before Brockport chased him out of the game in the eighth inning and started their rally.
Senior first baseman Austin Clock said, “We just have to play our style of Cortland baseball and the rest will take care of itself. We focus on controlling what we can control.”
The Red Dragons defeated Brockport in a double header last Friday.
The Red Dragons would win the second game of the doubleheader in a tightly contested 6-5 victory in a game that only lasted 7 innings. The Red Dragons got off to a hot start scoring four runs in the first inning.
After scoring their first run on a wild pitch, Cortland recorded three more runs in the inning thanks to a two-run single by Ricci, which was followed by an RBI groundout by senior Connor Griffin.
Red Dragon junior pitcher Ben Moxley allowed three earned runs in the third inning, while junior Jeff Cooke allowed two unearned runs in three innings.
In the first game versus Brockport, Cortland defeated the Golden Eagles, 11-2.
Pitcher Seth Lamando allowed two solo home runs.
Lamando went on to pitch eight innings, allowing eight hits with five strikeouts and no walks to earn his fifth win of the season in his first six starts.
“Our team chemistry is great. With the amount of returning players from last year’s team that won the championship, our chemistry has only grown and we have been able to share and spread it onto the new comers this year,” said senior Turner Perry.
Men's Lacrosse Flattens Brockport
The Red Dragons defeated Brockport this past weekend, 11-3.
By Mike Daddino, staff writer
April 7, 2016
The men’s lacrosse team picked up a much-needed win behind sophomore Nate Beresovoy’s hat trick to improve to 4-5 on the season.
The Red Dragons were all in unison Saturday afternoon as they splattered Brockport by a final score of 11-3.
The first half of this game consisted of a defensive showdown as the teams entered the locker room with Cortland clinging to a 4-1 lead.
However, in the second half the Red Dragons came out firing outscoring the Golden Eagles 7-2 to complete the 11-3 rout.
“It was a big win because we need to open conference play up this exact way,” said junior Michael Hart.
“We still have a long way to go, but this was a much needed win.”
Junior Conner Johnston scored a pair of goals, while freshman Dean Riley and senior Connor Scavone both chipping in a goal and an assist.
Sophomore goalie Joe Scalise was sharp as nail saving 13 of 16 shots thrown at him. Senior Pat Baldwin set the tempo winning 10-16 face-offs and scooping eight groundballs.
Last Wednesday, the Red Dragons came up short to Ithaca falling by a final score of 18-12.
Jack Shumway and Josh Della Puca led the Bombers both scoring four goals.
Goalie Scott Sidnam shoved away an eye popping 20 shots. The Bombers improved to an impressive 8-1 on the season with the win.
Senior Zack Hoops scored three goals while Beresovoy added two goals and an assist. Senior Ethan Printy added two goals as well.
The Red Dragons will look to win a crucial game next Wednesday versus Oswego.
Cheerleading Heads to Nationals
Cortland cheer is traveling to Daytona, Florida to compete at Nationals.
By Daniel McClure, staff writer
April 7, 2016
The Cortland cheer team will compete in Nationals Thursday, April 7th in Daytona, Florida.
After a 10th place finish last year, the team believes they have what it takes to contend for a National title.
The squad is led by senior base Jill Edelman.
Edelman, the team captain, has been a member of Cortland cheerleading for the last four years. This will be her last trip to Daytona and she hopes to end her career on a high note.
“We have been practicing four or five nights a week since September,” said Edelman.
“We’ve all worked extremely hard and it would be rewarding to see all of that hard work pay off at this stage of competition.”
The Red Dragons will first compete in the preliminary round on Thursday.
If the team performs well enough, it will be voted into the next round for a shot at winning it all. The team is well aware of the pressures that come along with performing in a competition of this magnitude.
“We definitely have the skills and the ability to succeed, but it comes down to execution,” said Edelman.
“We have to ace our routine when it counts. We know that any fall or minor slip-up can cost us a great deal, but I’m confident we’ll perform at our full potential.”
Other cheerleaders of note include flyers Steph Bender and Elani Alvarez as well Sabrina Roberts, a base. All three play significant roles in the team’s routine.
While Bender and Alvarez will take their skills to the air, Roberts looks to shine as one of the squad’s best tumblers.
Kelly Brayuha, Kristina Loria and Nicole Baker are three other girls the team will be counting on. Although it won’t be easy, if the team is able to perform at its highest level, the sky is the limit for Cortland cheerleading this year in Daytona.
Baseball Sweeps Fredonia
The Red Dragons took a three-game sweep of Fredonia at home and beat Ithaca in extra innings.
By Annie Choiniere, staff writer
March 31, 2016
Baseball opened up a three-game weekend series against Fredonia on Friday and won all three behind strong pitching.
In the first game of the series, senior Seth Lamando threw seven scoreless innings, allowing just three hits and striking out eight in the 10-2 victory.
The Red Dragons offense combined for a 13-hit attack led by sophomore Justin Teague who finished 2-for-4 and junior Steven Figueroa who went 2-for-4.
Cortland's shutout bid was spoiled in the ninth inning, but the Blue Devils could not get back any more than two runs, leaving the bases loaded to end the game.
In game two, the Red Dragons took a 7-2 win behind a strong pitching performance from junior Ben Moxley.
In the seven-inning opener, Moxley threw six innings, allowing just two unearned runs and five hits.
Cortland trailed 2-1 after two innings, but took a commanding lead in the third inning, never allowing Fredonia to score again.
The Red Dragons scored four runs in the third inning and two more in the fourth
Senior Conrad Ziemendorf led the offense, going 3-for-3 with a homer, triple, walk, three runs scored and two RBI.
Senior Austin Clock finished 2-for-3 with a triple, double and two RBI and freshman Paul Dondero went 2-for-3.
In the final game of the series, Cortland improved to 18-3 on the season with a 7-1 victory.
Senior Tanner Whiteman threw seven shutout innings of the nine-inning game, allowing just three hits.
The game was tied until the bottom of the fourth until the Red Dragons broke through for three runs, and added two more runs in the sixth.
The Red Dragons held Fredonia to just one runner in scoring position through the first eight innings, until the Blue Devils scored on a fielding error in the ninth for their only run of the game.
Junior Steven Figueroa finished 3-for-4 with a home run, two RBI and two runs scored and junior Nick Hart was 2-for-2 with an RBI.
The Red Dragons took an exciting win in extra innings against Ithaca earlier in the week. Cortland won in walk-off fashion on a solo home run.
Sophomore Ralph Nuzzi broke the 2-2 tie with two outs in the bottom of the tenth with a solo home run, giving the Red Dragons the win.
Senior Turner Parry earned the win after entering the game in the ninth inning with two perfect innings of relief.
Senior Connor Griffin finished 2-for-4 and freshman Paul Dondero went 2-for-5.
Cortland will travel to Brockport on Friday for a SUNYAC matchup.
Women's Lacrosse Dominates
The Red Dragons collect two wins versus Nazareth and College of New Jersey.
By Tyler Byrne, staff writer
March 31, 2016
The women's lacrosse team continued their dominance this week with two non-conference victories.
The Red Dragons took on Nazareth College in Rochester.
The Red Dragons netted a season high 21 goals and got contributions from ten different scorers.
Junior Kristen Ohberg led the way with four goals and an outstanding overall performance.
Senior captain Tara Monaghan tallied six points to add to her already stellar 2016 campaign.
Senior Ashley Gentile took home player of the week honors last week and continued her strong play with two goals of her own.
On Saturday, the Red Dragons took on the number four-ranked College of New Jersey Lions in an afternoon home game.
Gentile and Monaghan combined for 11 goals and 3 assists.
“We do all of the little things well and we have a lot of talented players. It seems like every game we find a way to take it to the next level and that is how you win championships,” said Monaghan.
Junior goaltender Jaclyn Beshlian made a career high 13 saves to help fend off the Lions comeback. Things started to get dicey when the Lions cut the lead to five with five minutes to play and had all of the momentum.
The senior leaders for Cortland decided to put a stop to it.
Senior Nicole Bello joined Monaghan and Gentile in scoring three consecutive goals to seal the deal and catapult Cortland to a 7-0 start.
With conference play approaching, the Red Dragons look to continue their stellar play and capture yet another SUNYAC title.
Men's Lacrosse Records Two Wins
The Red Dragons improve their overall record to 3-4 after two victories.
By Sam Kobylar, staff writer
March 31, 2016
The men’s lacrosse team won both of their games this past weekend to snap their four game losing streak.
The Red Dragons defeated seventh ranked Cabrini, 16-14.
The Red Dragons got off to a hot start commanding a 12-4 lead over Cabrini at halftime.
Senior attack Zach Hoops scored seven goals including six in the first half.
Sophomore Devin Phelps and junior T.J. deLyra both had hat tricks.
Cabrini made a comeback attempt in the second half of the game, but fell short of taking the game away. Cabrini outscored the Red Dragons in the second half, 10-4.
Cabrini outshot Cortland 49-40.
Sophomore goalie Joe Scalise made 13 saves in the contest while Cabrini’s freshman goalie Riley White recorded 10 saves.
Before upsetting number seven Cabrini, the Red Dragons handed Morrisville their first loss of the season in a 14-9 victor.
Six different Red Dragons scored eight of their first half goals including two goals by sophomore attack Nate Beresovoy and freshman midfielder Joey Panariello.
The Red Dragons put this game out of reach in the second half thanks to three goals in a span of less than two minutes from Hoops which gave Cortland a 12-7 lead early in the fourth quarter.
The Red Dragons won 14-9. The Red Dragons outshot Morrisville 50-29 and won 21 of 27 face-offs.
The men’s lacrosse team looks to build on their current two game-winning streak as they face Ithaca and Brockport.
Swimming Competes at Championships
Two Red Dragons placed in their events at the Division III Swimming and Diving Championships.
By Abby Williams, staff writer
March 24, 2016
Senior Miranda Fergus and Junior Lee Wade represented the Red Dragons in each of their NCAA Division III Swimming and Diving Championships.
Wade finished in seventh place out of the 15 divers on the 1-meter board at the Championships, hosted by Cortland.
Wade ended the day with a score of 442.55 points.
The winner of the event was Geneseo’s Samuel Randall with 523.10 points. Followed by Rafael Santiago with 500.65 points and Arron Carlson with 493.85 points, both who came from the Fredonia Blue Devils.
Cortland’s Wade was named as the second alternate for national qualifying during the second day of competition at the NCAA Division III Region 4 Diving Championships.
Fergus ended her season with a 17th place finish in the 3-meter diving during the final day of the NCAA Division III Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships. Fergus finished with a 3-meter score of 385.20 points in the preliminaries and missed the top 16 by less than nine points.
The top 16 divers advanced to either the finals if 1-8 or the consolation finals if finished 9-16.
This was Fergus’ second NCAA championship appearance. In Fergus’ sophomore year she finished 18th on the 3-meter board and 13th on the 1-meter board.
The Red Dragons ended their season with one team point because of Fergus’ 16th place finish on the 1-meter board Thursday and then tied for 54th place in the final team standings.
The championship meet lasted four days and was hosted by the Old Dominion Athletic Conference at the Greensboro Aquatic Center.
Baseball Wins Six in Florida
The Red Dragons took six wins and three losses at the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational last week.
By Annie Choiniere, staff writer
March 24, 2016
In Cortland's first SUNYAC matchups of the season, New Paltz took two of three games against the Red Dragons.
On Friday, they split a lopsided doubleheader, losing the first nine-inning game 11-2 and winning the second seven-inning game 15-4.
In game one, New Paltz sent 13 batters to the plate for an eight-run sixth inning, breaking a 2-2 tie. Seniors Conrad Ziemendorf and Keith Andrews were responsible for Cortland's two RBI's.
In game two, the Red Dragons jumped out to an early lead, scoring multiple runs in the first, second, fourth and fifth innings, giving them a 15-0 by the end of the fifth.
The Hawks gained two more runs back in both the sixth and seventh innings for a 15-4 final.
Senior Seth Lamando earned his third win of the season in as many attempts, retiring the first nine batters he faced. He only allowed two hits over five scoreless innings of work.
Freshman Jake Hewitt homered and doubled in his first two collegiate at bats for Cortland, ending his day with four RBI and two runs scored.
Ziemendorf also finished 2-for-3 with a double and three RBI.
In the third SUNYAC matchup in two days between New Paltz and Cortland, the Hawks edged out the Red Dragons for a 4-3 win.
Cortland took a 3-1 lead in the third inning when junior Steven Figueroa hit a three-run home run with two outs, but then allowed the Hawks to score three times in the fifth to take the lead.
The tying and go ahead run came after Cortland intentionally loaded the bases. Senior Turner Parry struck out the following two batters but the next batter drove in two runs to complete the scoring.
On Thursday, Cortland took a 5-3 win against Clarkson in a non-league matchup.
Junior Ben Moxley earned his second win of the season, allowing six hits and two runs in five and two thirds innings while striking out four.
Senior Fabio Ricci and freshman Paul Dondero led Cortland offensively, each tallying two hits.
Cortland was handed their first loss of the season on Tuesday. Endicott took an 8-3 victory as the nationally top ranked Red Dragons had their 21-game win streak snapped, dating back to last season.
The Gulls scored seven runs in the bottom of the fourth inning and the Red Dragons were only able to get two runs back, failing to capitalize on a bases loaded seventh inning.
In a slugfest of a matchup on Monday, Cortland rallied to take a 22-20 victory over Rutgers-Camden. Each team finished with 20 hits.
Senior Austin Clock and Figueroa each finished with four hits for the Red Dragons.
Cortland took a 22-14 lead after four innings and held off a late comeback over the last two innings to defeat the Raptors.
In a rematch of last year's NCAA Div. III World Series, the Red Dragons overcame a 3-1 deficit to win 4-3 in ten innings over the University of Wisconsin-La Cross.
Clock hit the game-winning bases loaded single to win the game in the tenth inning. He finished the game with three RBI.
Senior Turner Parry retired all 11 batters he faced, including eight by strikeout after taking over in the 6th inning.
In Cortland's second game of the Florida trip, the Red Dragons took a 10-3 win over William Paterson. The Red Dragons scored in each of the first five innings and led for the entire game.
Sophomore Matt Personius finished 3-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored.
The Red Dragons opened the Florida trip with a close victory against Rowan, winning 4-3.
Cortland scored all of its runs in the bottom of the fourth inning and held off a fifth inning rally from Rowan.
Ziemendorf finished 3-for-4.
The Red Dragons are scheduled to host Fredonia in a SUNYAC matchup on Friday.
Men's Lax Drops Two More Losses
The Red Dragons’ record fell to 1-4 overall after adding two losses to Amherst and Stevenson.
By Tyler Byrne, staff writer
March 24, 2016
The men's lacrosse team dropped their fourth straight game on Thursday by a score of 13-12 in Tampa, Florida.
Losses to Nazareth and RIT left the team disappointed as the defense let up 12 and 13 goals respectively.
Senior Anthony Vaccaro said, “We need to tighten up on the back end. It is not a lack of effort or anything like that, we just need to keep to the fundamentals and be a little smarter back there.”
Unfortunately, the Red Dragons were unable to figure things out and left last week with two more losses in their pocket.
The Red Dragons hosted Stevenson at home for their home opener and got contributions from a multitude of players.
Seven different players scored goals led by senior Zach Hopps and freshman Dean Riley.
The points were the first of Riley's young career and the start of a promising career in the red and white.
The 13-7 home loss was a damaging one, but was something to build on moving forward.
On Thursday, the Red Dragons traveled down to Tampa to take on number four Amherst College in a non-conference matchup.
Sophomore Devin Phelps had a huge day with six points and junior T.J deLyra continued his hot start by adding two goals of his own.
It was a back and forth game thanks to the stellar play in net by sophomore Joe Scalise who set his career high with 18 saves.
The game went into overtime with the teams tied at twelve a piece.
The Red Dragons won the draw, but a turnover and quick exit by Amherst led to a goal that sealed the deal.
Swimming Competes at Regionals
The men and women’s swimming and diving team participated in the NCAA Diving Regional Championship.
By Sam Kobylar, staff writer
March 3, 2016
The Red Dragons hosted this year’s NCAA Division III Region 4 Diving Championship this past weekend.
Both swim teams had a very successful weekend in the NCAA Diving Regionals in their home pool.
Swimmers on both the men and women’s side advanced to the NCAA Division III Championship in North Carolina.
On the Men’s side, junior swimmer and diver Lee Wade made his first NCAA Regionals appearance last weekend and was named as the second alternative for Nationals after his performance in Regionals.
On Saturday, Wade finished in seventh place out of 15 divers in the 1-meter board with a score of 442.55. Wade finished 84.45 points behind the winner of the 1-meter board winner.
On Friday, Wade came in 12th place in the 3-meter board and also finished with an 11-dive score of 411.25 points. Wade’s 411.25 points was 113.9 points behind the 11-dive score winner from Fredonia.
“Competing in regionals was very nice this year and all of the other competitors I spoke to enjoyed the Cortland facility very much, everyone seemed to really enjoy the meet,” said Wade.
While Wade had a successful weekend for the men’s team, senior Miranda Fergus, who has participated in Regionals in all her four years, had a successful weekend representing the Red Dragons.
Fergus clinched herself a spot in the NCAA Division III Championship.
On Saturday afternoon, Fergus had a solid performance in the final day of Regionals thanks to a first place finish in the 3-meter board. Fergus finished the board with a total of 459.45 points, just 14.6 points behind 3-meter board runner-up.
Fergus actually claimed her NCAA Championship spot on the first night of Regionals with her second place finish in the 1-meter board.
Out of 26 swimmers, Fergus finished in second place in the 1-meter board with a total score of 436.85 points as Natalie Snyder from RIT finished in first place with 450.30 points.
This will be Fergus’s second appearance in the NCAA Division III Swimming Nationals as Fergus previously appeared in Nationals as a sophomore, where she finished in 13th place in the national 1-meter board.
The Red Dragons will have a two and a half week break before their next swim meet, which will be their biggest swim meet of the season.
The Red Dragons will be participating in the NCAA Division III four day Championship.
Men's Lax Seals First Win
The men's lacrosse team opened their season with a win against Scranton.
By Tyler Byrne, staff writer
March 3, 2016
The men's lacrosse team came up eighth in the preseason poll to start the season.
This puts them in a position to move up throughout the season, but also cements their place as one of the best teams in the nation.
The Red Dragons started strong last week as they opened the season with a win against Scranton.
The final score was 9-7 in a game that yielded a few standout performers.
“Everything needs to get a little sharper, but overall this was a good place to start and we are going to continue to get better,” said senior Anthony Vaccaro.
Sophomore Nate Beresovoy tallied three goals and an assist and was wreaking havoc in the offensive zone all afternoon.
Seniors Zach Hopps and Vaccaro each netted a goal and delivered in all facets of the game.
Vaccaro also added four ground balls and had an outstanding all around game.
The Red Dragons were leading for the majority of the game except for early in the opening quarter.
The lead was thanks in part to the stellar play between the pipes of freshman goalie Cooper Brown.
In Brown’s first collegiate contest he made six tough saves to preserve the lead.
Scranton cut the lead to 9-7 with a little under a minute remaining.
The Red Dragons won the ensuing face off and proceeded to run out the clock and seal the win.
Number eight Red Dragons will face Nazareth in their next match on Friday.
Men's Basketball Dunks Their Way to NCAAs
The men’s basketball team defeated Oswego to be named the SUNYAC Champions and receive an automatic berth in the NCAA Division III tournament.
By Jeff Dewan, staff writer
March 3, 2016
Men’s basketball captured their first SUNYAC title since the 2013 season with a pair of wins this weekend.
The Red Dragons beat the Oswego Lakers in the SUNYAC final on Saturday, 77-74.
Oswego started the game on fire shooting nearly 50% from the floor in the first half. Oswego was led by sophomore Brian Sortino’s 27 points and took an 11-point lead going into halftime.
The Red Dragons made their push early in the second half going on an 18-5 run to take a 52-51 lead with nearly 12 minutes to go.
Sophomore Carrel Joseph had a huge game with a career-high 24 points and six rebounds. Joseph shot an amazing 81% and made six three-pointers.
With the game tied at 74 with 24 seconds left, the Red Dragons decided to hold for the last shot. Senior Blair Estarfaa passed the ball to sophomore James Morales who drilled a three with 0.4 seconds remaining to claim the victory.
Joseph was named the tournament MVP and Estarfaa and senior JP Reagan were also named to the all-tournament team. Both Estarfaa and Reagan finished the game with 12 points.
The men defeated Brockport on Friday in the SUNYAC semifinal by a score of 80-78.
Similar to the game against Oswego, the Red Dragons found themselves trailing starting the second half.
The Red Dragons fought back and tied the game at 45 with 16 minutes left in the second half and took an eight-point lead after a three from senior Shayne Martinez.
Brockport would not accept defeat easily as they managed to tie the game at 75 with only two minutes to go.
With 12 seconds left Estarfaa was fouled and made both free throws to give the Red Dragons the lead that they would never surrender.
Estarfaa led the Red Dragons with 19 points followed by Martinez who had 16.
By winning the SUNYAC tournament, the Red Dragons received an automatic berth into the NCAA Division III tournament. Pairings for the tournament have yet to be announced.
Baseball Remains Unbeaten
The Red Dragons defeated all their opponents to win the Methodist Diamond Invitational last weekend.
By Annie Choiniere, staff writer
March 3, 2016
The baseball team took first place at a two-day tournament in North Carolina over the weekend, defeating four teams.
With the victories, their record improved to 6-0 overall.
The Red Dragons beat Marietta and Methodist on Friday by scores of 7-4 and 5-3 respectively. On Saturday, the Red Dragons defeated Neumann 8-6 and shut out Lynchburg 4-0 to complete the tournament.
Senior Tanner Whiteman took the win for the Red Dragons in Saturday's shutout against Lynchburg. He pitched six innings of the two-hit shutout, never allowing a hit after the first inning.
The Red Dragons opened the scoring in the top of the first on an RBI double from sophomore Marcos Perivolaris. The score remained 1-0 until the seventh inning when one run scored off a sac fly from senior Austin Clock.
The Red Dragons added two insurance runs in the ninth on an RBI single and a sac fly.
In their exciting 8-6 victory over Neumann, five Red Dragons had two hits each as part of a 14-hit attack. A late seventh inning rally from Cortland lifted them over the Knights for the win.
The game took a 4-4 tie to the bottom of the seventh inning before the Red Dragons were able to open the gap.
The rally started with an RBI single from Clock and a two-run single from sophomore Justin Teague. An error allowed one more run to score.
Neumann earned two more runs back in the top of the eighth, but senior Adam Brant threw a scoreless final four outs to end the game.
The Red Dragons opened the tournament with a pair of wins against 24th-ranked Marietta College and 23rd-ranked Methodist University on Friday.
In the first game against Marietta, the Pioneers scored first in the top of the fourth inning, but the Red Dragons quickly answered with four runs in the bottom of the inning, and another three in the seventh inning.
Clock finished 3-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored and junior Nick Hart went 2-for-2 with a walk, sac fly, three RBI and a run scored.
In the second game of the day, the Red Dragons overcame a 3-0 deficit to take a 5-3 win against Methodist.
Three players who accounted for six of Cortland’s seven hits highlighted the offense. Teague was 2-for-2, sophomore Ralph Nuzzi went 2-for-3 and junior Steven Figueora finished 2-for-4.
The Red Dragon's rally began in the eighth inning when an error allowed the tying run to score from second base. A fielder's choice and another error allowed two more runs to score as Cortland took the lead.
Senior Turner Perry then pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning to end the game.
The Red Dragons will travel to Baltimore this weekend for two games against Johns Hopkins University.
Girls Shoot For Playoffs
The Red Dragons snapped their three-game losing streak after a win against Fredonia.
By Annie Choiniere, Staff Writer
February 11, 2016
Women’s basketball ended their three-game losing streak last week, picking up two losses and a win in SUNYAC matchups.
The Red Dragons are in line for the sixth and final SUNYAC playoff spot with a three-game cushion on Plattsburgh.
Cortland’s record is now 13-7 overall and 8-5 in the SUNYAC conference.
Cortland took a 77-69 win over visiting Fredonia on Saturday snapping a three-game losing streak.
The Red Dragons led by five at the half, but visiting Fredonia came out strong in the second half and came within two points by the end of the third quarter.
Fredonia took a brief 54-52 lead at the beginning of the fourth quarter, followed by four tied scores before the Red Dragons took the lead for good with only 2:06 remaining.
Junior Alyssa Crosby scored a career-high 19 points for the Red Dragons, nine of which were in the fourth quarter.
Junior Stephanie Rice finished with 17 points and nine rebounds, and junior Cassidy Chapko added another 12 points.
In an exciting home matchup versus Buffalo State, Cortland suffered a tough 63-60 loss.
Chapko led the Dragon offense with a career-high 23 points and six rebounds, 16 of which were made in the fourth quarter.
Senior Caysea Cohen added 17 points and eight rebounds and Rice ended with five points, six rebounds and three blocks.
The Red Dragons battled back to just a two-point deficit with eight seconds remaining.
In a last ditch effort to win the game Chapko hurled a half court shot that bounced off the backboard as the clock ran out.
Cortland was bested by Brockport last Tuesday, 88-53.
Brockport shot 62% from the floor.
The Golden Eagles took a 28-point lead and extended the margin to 41 points in the second half.
Olivia Suhr led the Golden Eagles with 16 points.
Freshman Alaina Lynch scored nine points for the Red Dragons with Cohen adding eight more.
The Red Dragons will face Oneonta in their next SUNYAC conference matchup.
Basketball Rallies Fredonia
The Red Dragons improve their overall record to 14-6 after clinching a win against Fredonia.
By Jeff Dewan, Staff Writer
February 11, 2016
Men’s basketball won two of their last three games this past week.
The Red Dragons are now 14-6 overall and 8-5 in the SUNYAC conference.
“We just have to keep moving forward,” said senior T.J. Hefele. “Trusting the coaches, trusting each other, and hopefully making a run and making it to the playoffs is the goal.”
On Saturday, the Red Dragons held off a Fredonia comeback with an 81-76 victory.
Hefele and senior Blair Estarfaa started the game with back-to-back three pointers to give the Red Dragons an early advantage and led to a lopsided first half.
After senior JP Reagan hit a pair of threes, the Red Dragon’s lead was extended to 21 with five minutes left in the first half.
The first half ended with the boys up 43-29, but Fredonia started the second half determined to get back into the game.
Fredonia started the second half on a 12-2 scoring run and cut the lead down to four with 15 minutes left.
The Red Dragons felt the Blue Devils building momentum and managed to build their lead back up to 10 thanks to a spinning layup from sophomore James Morales. However, Fredonia would not stay away.
Fredonia sophomore Ian Helps was the main reason the Blue Devils even had a chance.
Helps had 29 points in the game, many of which came from the free throw line.
The game was tied with five minutes left and Dragon defense stepped up to the challenge.
The Red Dragons trapped Helps in the backcourt and forced a turnover that led to a layup from sophomore big man Carrel Joseph.
The defense provided another take away when Hefele stole the ball with 33 seconds left to seal the victory for the Red Dragons. Both Estarfaa and Reagan finished the game with 17 points.
Another victory was claimed on Friday as the men beat Buffalo State on President Bitterbaum night by a score of 63-62.
Unlike the game against Fredonia, neither team held a substantial lead throughout this contest.
With 1:30 left in the game, Buffalo State hit a fade away jumper to take a 62-61 lead.
Buffalo State had the ball again and was at the free throw line with 30 seconds left and had the chance to take a three-point lead. Thanks to a ruckus crowd, Buffalo State missed both free throws and gave the Red Dragons the ball with 16 seconds left and a chance to win the game.
Reagan drove to the basket and was fouled with 4.4 seconds left.
“Just sink ‘em,” said Reagan. “Make them make the last shot and put the pressure on them.”
Reagan swished both free throws and secured the win.
Estarfaa led the team in scoring with 23 points, seven coming from the free throw line.
On Tuesday, the Red Dragons battled Brockport in a losing effort, 86-73.
Brockport took advantage on the inside scoring 44 points in the paint compared to Cortland’s 16.
Brockport had an impressive night shooting 53% from the field and 93.8% from the free throw line.
“They just played harder than us,” said Hefele.
“We kind of laid down and didn’t come out with enough energy.”
Meunier Sets Save Record
The Red Dragons lost their three most recent games all on the road.
By Sam Kobylar, Staff Writer
February 11, 2016
Women’s ice hockey’s senior goalie Deanna Meunier set a career-save record turning away 35 shots at top-ranked Plattsburgh.
“I think some games bounce different ways. There is a whole different atmosphere when you are home and when you are away, but that is no excuse for winning or losing,” said Meunier.
The Red Dragons fell 3-1 to undefeated Plattsburgh on Sunday.
Plattsburgh was the better team in game outshooting the Red Dragons 38-14 and scoring a goal in each period.
Head Coach Earl Utter said, “Usually we are better on the road than we are at home. I think this year’s team likes playing at home at the Alumni Arena. It makes them more comfortable and they have a routine here. I believe that is a good thing for them.”
The Red Dragons lone goal came late in the third period, when freshman defensive player Charlie Calamari netted her third goal of the season.
Meunier’s 35 saves in goal kept the Red Dragons in the game.
On Saturday, the Red Dragons faced Plattsburgh for the first time suffering a huge loss of 1-7.
Plattsburgh dominated the game outshooting the Red Dragons 47-11.
After only trailing by one goal at the end of one period, Plattsburgh ran away with the game scoring three goals in the second and third period.
Plattsburgh took full advantage of penalties including three for five on power play attempts.
Meunier had 40 saves in goal while senior forward Katie Gili scored the lone goal for the Red Dragons in the final period of the game giving her five goals on the season with assists from senior forwards Corey Temple and Maggie Corbett.
“We got away from doing things the way we want to and need to get back to the basics. If we can just get back to playing the game the way we know how, we will be successful,” said Coach Utter.
The Red Dragons suffered a loss to Hamilton in a non-conference play game. Hamilton defeated the Red Dragons 3-0.
After both teams went scoreless through the first 25 minutes of the game, Hamilton got on the scoreboard early in the second.
Hamilton scored one more goal before the conclusion of the second period to get a 2-0 lead over Cortland heading into the final period.
The Red Dragons remained scoreless in the third period as Hamilton would get one more goal to cap off their 3-0 victMeory.
Hamilton outshot Cortland 23-19 with both teams having three power play opportunities.
The Red Dragons did not capitalize on their power play chances while Hamilton converted on one of their power plays.
Freshman Victoria Gibson started her second game in goal for the Red Dragons. Gibson recorded 20 saves giving her a total of 28 saves on the season.
“We are working on our defensive zone right now. We are trying to break the puck out a little better and hopefully that gets things flowing for us.” said senior forward Niamh O’ Connor.
Wrestlers Blank Oswego
Nationally sixth-ranked Red Dragons extend their win streak to six after a 42-0 sweep against Oswego.
By Shayne Martinez, Staff Writer
February 11, 2016
All 10-weight classes became victors in their matchups against Oswego on Saturday.
The Red Dragons propelled to a 12-2 regular season record and a ranking at the sixth spot in the country.
Junior Erick Orellana coasted to a 16-2 major decision victory at 125 pounds against Oswego’s Jacob Yankloski.
At 133 pounds, junior Andrew Roden won a tough battle by a decision of 3-2. The Red Dragons started the day off with a comfortable 7-0 lead.
Sophomore Derak Heyman followed with a dominating performance and technical fall victory 18-1.
Heyman earned his 12th victory at 141 pounds.
At the 149-pound weight class, freshman Austin Whitney pinned his way to victory to keep the ball rolling for the Red Dragons.
Top ranked Bobby Dierna received the second victory by way of pin for the Red Dragons and improved his record to 15-2 on the year.
Junior Colin Barber contributed to his 21-6 record on the year by recording a 5-2 decision at the 165-pound weight class.
Fourth-ranked senior Lou Puca was battle tested against Oswego’s ninth-ranked Troy Seymour, but the 174-pound veteran managed to come out on top.
Junior Mike Beckwith pinned his opponent in just over two minutes at the 184-pound weight class.
Senior Joe Giaramita defeated 10th ranked Daniel Smith at 197 pounds.
To cap off a great day for the Red Dragons, Cortland won by a decision of 4-2, and a team score 42-0.
Hockey Falls Short
The men’s ice hocky team fell to a 7-10-4 overall record after losing to Plattsburgh.
By Tyler Byrne, Staff Writer
February 11, 2016
Red Dragon hockey suffered a tough 6-1 loss to nationally third-ranked Plattsburgh on Saturday.
The loss dropped Cortland to a disappointing 1-8-3 overall record in the SUNYAC conference.
Sophomore Darren McCormick netted the lone goal for the Red Dragons.
Sophomore goalie Drew Weigman made 30 saves in the first two periods and sophomore Kollyn Jones stopped 13 of 14 shots in the third period.
Plattsburgh went on to score six unanswered goals and completely dominated the final fifty minutes of the game.
On Friday, the Red Dragons earned a 3-3 overtime tie against Potsdam.
Senior Ryan Wagner scored the game-tying goal with less than six minutes remaining in regulation.McCormick added one goal and two assists for the Red Dragons.
Sohpomore Dan Broderick netted one goal along with Wagner’s game-tying goal, sophomore Dray Zack recorded two assists and junior Casie Garrison added one assist.
Weigman registered 33 saves in three periods and overtime play.
Broderick made the lead 2-1 at 6:44 of the second before Potsdam added another goal 1:30 into the third period. McCormick scored his team-high 10th goal of the season 18 seconds later to make it a 3-2 game, and Wagner tied the game at 14:25 to bring the game into overtime.
Neither time was able to capitalize in overtime play to secure the win.
The Red Dragons will face Morrisville on Friday.
Flood Tops Own School Record
Red Dragon track and field competed at the Ithaca Bomber Invitational this past weekend.
By Jamie Winsper, Staff Writer
February 11, 2016
Junior Jack Flood washed away his own record in the heptathlon at the Ithaca Bomber Invitational.
Flood finished first out of 19 heptathletes with a score of 5,054 points. His old record was set this past December with 4,923 points.
Freshmen Storm Malone won the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.43.
Junior Zachary Meszler and senior Romain Saint Germain took third and fifth, respectively, in the 200-meter dash.
Meslzer and Saint Germain, along with senior Jerel Williams and freshman John Nitterour, ran 1:31.61 to win the 4x200 meter relay.
Freshman Jon Feil finished fourth in the 800-meter run with a time of 1:59.04, while sophomore Aaron Granger ran a time of 4:20.95 to finish third in the mile.
The Red Dragons performed well in the heptathlon with senior Jack Flood finishing first, followed by junior Connor Christopherson in second place.
Junior Mitchel Couch threw 15.91 meters in the 35-pound weight throw to finish in second, as well as 14.21 meters to finish fifth in the shot put.
Sohpomore Charles Kollmer and junior Corey Fitchett finished fourth and sixth in the pole vault. Kollmer and Fitchett both cleared a height of 4.25 meters.
In the high jump, junior Nick Vachon cleared 1.93 meters to finish in fifth place.
The Dragon men took second and third in the triple jump. Sophomore Dawan Jones jumped for 14.19 meters with freshman C.J. White reached 13.79 meters.
On the women’s side, junior Allison Schumann finished second in the 5000-meter run with a time of 18:54.85.
Juniors Midge Moore and Dana Kupiec and freshmen Valerie Moise and Raheemah Madany ran the 4x200 meter relay in 1:43.72 to earn second place.
The 4x400 meter relay team placed fifth running in 4:12.59 with freshmen Yasmeen Griffin and Kaylee Uhl, graduate student Hannah Anthes and senior Kailyn Balzano.
Anthes competed in the 400-meter dash and finished in sixth place running 1:02.41.
Balzano, Uhl and senior Kayla Blomback claimed three of the top six spots in the 800-meter run. Senior Kerri Culhane finished sixth in the one mile run with a time of 5:19.96.
The women were successful in the pentathlon with senior Kayla Koelbel finishing first and sophomore Nicole Hofmann finishing fifth.
In the field events, Sophomore Brenda Perrella threw 11.61 meters for fifth place in the shot put, as well as 14.30 meters for sixth place in the 20-pound weight throw.
The Red Dragons will compete at the Boston University Valentine Invitational and the Cornell Sunday Invitational this weekend.
Gymnasts Come Up Short
The gymnastics team lost in a close battle against Division I Air Force.
By Tyler Byrne, Staff Writer
February 18, 2016
The Red Dragon gymnasts showed their talent this weekend in a hard fought meet against Division I Air Force.
“We started out strong and hung right with them, but we started falling apart,” said senior Marley Bender. “I could not be more proud of our team though, hanging with a D1 squad like that shows just how talented we are.”
The two squads started out neck and neck trading flawless routines back and forth for the majority of the contest.
Things started going south for the Red Dragons about ¾ of the way through and Air Force capitalized on their mistakes.
The Red Dragons had a few standout performances that kept them close in the early going.
Freshman Rachel Filipski took first on the vault and got the momentum going for the team.
Junior Amanda Scanlon followed that up with a first place finish of her own on the beam. Rounding off the first place finishers was sophomore Mckenna Passalaqua, who spun and twisted her way to first place on the floor.
In the end, Air Force just had too much depth for the Red Dragons to hang with them.
The final score was Air Force 190.25 - Cortland 187.75.
Other solid performances came form seniors Emily Nagy and Marley Bender.
Nagy continues to excel on beam while Bender has made a strong comeback from yet another knee surgery.
The Red Dragons continues to get better and better as the season progresses and performances like this are putting Division III on notice.
Basketball Clinches Playoff Berth
Men’s Basketball will play in the SUNYAC conference tournament after securing a spot.
By Jeff Dewan, Staff Writer
February 18, 2016
Men’s basketball punched their ticket into the SUNYAC playoffs during their road trip last week winning two out of three games.
The Red Dragons are now 16-7 overall and 10-6 in conference play.
On Saturday, the men beat Potsdam handily with an 87-71 victory.
After an even start, the Red Dragons gained momentum after a rim-rattling dunk from sophomore Carrel Joseph.
The Red Dragons finished the first half with a 12-5 run that gave them a 45-32 lead.
Despite a strong three-point shooting night from the Bears, the boys added to their lead in the second half. Senior Blair Estarfaa led the team with 17 points, nine of which came from the three-point arc.
It was a balanced night of scoring for the Red Dragons as the bench accounted for 41 of the team’s 87 points.
The Red Dragons claimed their victory late in the second half as they held a game-high 24-point lead with only four minutes left.
Potsdam finished the game on a 12-4 run in the final couple of minutes but the Red Dragons lead was never threatened.
This victory guaranteed the boys a spot in the SUNYAC playoffs. Seniors T.J. Hefele and JP Reagan both finished with 14 points apiece.
The Red Dragons lost to SUNYAC leader Plattsburgh on Friday by a score of 99-78.
The Cardinals got off to an 8-0 advantage and never looked back. Plattsburgh shot a season high 58.7% from the floor.
The Red Dragons fought hard, but could not even bring the game back to a tie.
Plattsburgh freshman Jonathan Patron led his team with 21 points. The Cardinals took advantage on the inside scoring 50 points in the paint.
Hefele scored 21 points for the Red Dragons, 15 coming from three-point range.
Down by 27 with only four minutes to go, Cortland accepted defeat, however, they hope to see Plattsburgh again in the playoffs.
On Tuesday, the Red Dragons conquered the rival Red Dragons of Oneonta 64-56.
It was not an efficient game offensively as Cortland and Oneonta shot 37.9% and 33.3% from the floor respectively.
The key difference in the contest was the play of the bench for our Red Dragons. The Cortland reserves scored 33 points while Oneonta’s substitutes recorded a mere 10 points.
Joseph led the team in scoring with 17 points and also grabbed 8 rebounds.
The Red Dragons will take on Oswego on Friday.
Men's Ice Hockey Gets Back To Winning
The Red Dragons bounce back and win two games in a row against Morrisville.
By Sam Kobylar, Staff Writer
February 18, 2016
Men’s Ice Hockey held their senior night last Saturday for their final regular season home game against Morrisville.
The Red Dragons came out on top in their final home game of the season defeating Morrisville 4-2.
“We are now 9-10-4 overall and have a chance to end the season over .500 for the first time in 14 seasons,” said head coach, Joe Cardarelli. “This team is better than last year, but we just are not at the level we need to be at to compete nationally yet.”
The game went back and forth throughout the first two periods and the game was tied 2-2 after two periods.
Sophomore forward Tommy Nolan scored the first goal of the game within the first three minutes of the game to put the Red Dragons on the board early.
Morrisville fought back scoring two goals to take a 2-1 lead ending the first period.
The Red Dragons took control throughout the rest of the game tying the game late in the second period thanks to a power play goal from sophomore forward Andrew McCann assisted by senior defenseman Mike Davie.
The Red Dragons pulled away the game in the third period scoring two more goals to completely secure the win on senior night.
Senior forward Michael Mascaro gave the Red Dragons the lead with an early period goal. Freshman forward Sean Brown scored a late period insurance goal to finish the 4-2 victory over Morrisville.
Sophomore goalie Drew Weigman stopped 37 of 39 shots that Morrisville had on goal.
Coach Cardarelli said, “Our goaltender has played in almost all of our games this year and is one of the best in the conference. He keeps us in games by making huge saves on a regular basis.”
Before the win at home on Saturday against Morrisville, the Red Dragons faced Morrisville on the road.
The Red Dragons walked away with a close win over Morrisville to snap their previous six game winless streak. However, the game took longer than 60 minutes to determine the winner.
The game went into overtime resulting in a 5-4 victory for the Red Dragons.
The boys got off to a hot start taking an early 2-0 lead over Morrisville thanks to a pair of goals from sophomore forward Dan Broderick and freshman defenseman Andrew Gleason.
Morrisville came right back scoring two goals to tie the game before the end of the first period.
Morrisville looked like they were going to run away with the win on this game after adding two goals, but with 15 minutes left in regulation play, the Red Dragons came storming back scoring two goals in a span of six minutes to tie the game at 4 apiece.
Freshman forward Sean Brown scored the first of the two goals with senior forward Sam Pinsler scoring the game tying power play goal with less than 10 minutes left in regulation.
Sophomore forward Darren McCormick scored the game-winning goal within the first 40 seconds of overtime to secure the 5-4 overtime win over Morrisville.
“The win in Morrisville was important because we came back from two goals down and it showed a great will to win,” said Coach Cardarelli. “It would have been easier to give up, but our players battled and we are a stronger team as a result.”
The Red Dragons have two more regular season games remaining and hope to finish their regular season above .500.
The boys will face Buffalo State in their last two games of regular season play.
Dragons Race To Qualify
The Red Dragons divided and conquered at Cornell and Boston University this past week.
Both the men and women hit several ECAC qualifying marks.
Junior Mitchell Couch added to his already impressive season. He won the weight throw on Sunday at Cornell, setting the school record at 17.29 meters.
Couch also threw for 14.48 meters, hitting an ECAC mark in the shot put to earn fourth place.
Freshman Storm Malone and junior Nick Vachon also had ECAC qualifying performances on Sunday.
Malone was fourth in the 60 meter hurdles with a time of 8.52, while Vachon finished fifth in the high jump at 2 meters (6’6.75”).
At the Boston University Valentine Invitational, the 4x400 meter relay team of senior Roman Saint Germain, freshmen Austin Johnson and John Nitterour and senior Jerel Williams ran an ECAC time of 3:23:82 to finish 30th.
Williams recorded an individual ECAC qualifying time of 49.66 in the 400 meters. Other individual ECAC qualifiers included graduate student Nick Marcantonio and junior Mitch Ryan.
Marcantonio ran a tie of 14:58:77 to finish 36th out of 94 in the 5,000 meters while Ryan ran 8:32.02 to earn 59th out of 159 in the 3,000 meters. For the women, senior Kayla Koelbel hit an ECAC qualifying mark in the 60-meter hurdles, running 9.40 seconds in the prelims and 9.44 seconds in the finals.
The men and women’s track and field team competed at two meets this week with runners and throwers hitting ECAC qualifying marks.
By Jamie Winsper, Staff Writer
February 18, 2016
Koelbel had an eighth place finish in the 200-meter dash with a time of 27.47 seconds.
Junior Mary Baughman finished fourth in the 3,000 meters, running a time of 11:13.75. Melissa Emilio, a sophomore, ran a time of 2:24.62 in the 800 meters to earn a fifth place finish.
“I am really happy with my performance, although my legs were very tired,” said Emilio. “I am looking forward to racing again this weekend, and I am hoping to run a better time.”
In the field events, sophomore Brenda Perrella threw 11.33 meters in the shotput for sixth place and 14.17 meters for seventh place in the weight throw.
Junior Diamond Jackson reached 10.91 meters in the shotput for eighth place.
The women's distance medley relay team of seniors Kailyn Balzano and Kayla Blomback, junior Dana Kupiec and freshman Kaylee Uhl set a school record of 11:54.12. Finishing ninth out of 30 relay teams, the Red Dragons are now ranked fourth nationally.
Balzano is now ranked 27th nationally after recording an ECAC qualifying time of 5:00.79 in the mile.
Along with Balzano, Blomback and senior Kerri Culhane both hit ECAC marks in the mile. Blomback finished 54th with a time of 5:04.34 and Culhane finished 79th in 5:10.52.
Kupiec met ECAC standards after running 25.77 seconds in the 200-meter dash and 57.79 seconds in the 400 meters. Kupiec is now ranked 24th nationally; she was only a few tenths of a second away from setting the school record in both events.
The 200-meter dash also saw ECAC qualifying times from junior Midge Moore in 25.85 seconds and freshman Raheemah Madany in 26.05.
The Red Dragons will compete next Saturday at the Cornell Deneault Memorial in Ithaca.
Girls Head To SUNYACs
Women’s basketball calms down knowing their 15-8 overall record and their 10-6 SUNYAC record is enough to clinch a playoff berth.
By Shayne Martinez, Staff Writer
February 18, 2016
The Red Dragons handled Potsdam 64-38 extending their win streak to two games while Potsdam’s record fell to 1-21.
The large win margin is credited to the balanced attack the Red Dragons displayed on the court on Saturday.
Ten Red Dragons made their way into the scorer’s column. The girls had two players in double figure scoring.
Freshman Kristy Vittuci led the team with a career-high of 16 points and eight rebounds.
Junior Alyssa Crosby tallied 13 points and had the team-high nine rebounds and three steals.
Junior forward Danielle Levine scored eight points and grabbed seven rebounds.
Senior guard Caysea Cohen also had eight points for the Red Dragons.
Junior guard Cassidy Chapko led the team with a game-high five assists.
“We are very prepared for the playoffs. Everyone is starting to play and work well together and it will continue come playoff time,” said Chapko.
The Red Dragons shot 50% from the floor in the second half. The girls outrebounded Potsdam by a hefty margin of 46-29.
In a nail-biter at Plattsburgh on Friday, the Red Dragons pulled away 69-66 victory.
The Red Dragons overcame a 10-point fourth quarter deficit and went on a 17-1 run.
The 3-point line was very friendly to the Red Dragons in Friday’s matchup. Cohen shot an amazing 6-9 from beyond the arc and finished with 22 points for the game.
Vittuci’s 12 points came from her four makes from beyond the arc.
Chapko finished with 11 points for the game, knocking down two 3-pointers.
The girls’ shot 44% from the 3-point line overall. The Red Dragons hit 14 threes against Plattsburgh. Cortland was one 3-pointer shy of tying the college’s single game record of 15.
Chapko said, “We played collectively as a team in both games. Our communication and energy helped pull out two wins on the road.”
The Red Dragons slipped one game last Tuesday against Oneonta 63-55.
Cortland shot 29% from the floor and led the game in turnovers with 14.
Cohen led all scorers with 19 points.
Chapko was the second leading scorer with 13 points.
Junior Stephanie Rice grabbed 11 rebounds for the Red Dragons, which was a tie for the game-high.
The Red Dragons are back in action next week for their final two games of the regular season.
Dragon Hockey Hits Rough Patch
Dragon Hockey Hits Rough Patch
Women’s ice hockey suffered a tough loss to Buffalo State last Sunday.
By Abby Jo Williams, Staff Writer
February 18, 2016
Buffalo State shut out the women’s ice hockey team this past weekend with a loss of 0-4 in an ECAC West matchup.
“We worked really hard until the end,” said senior captain Laura Drew. “The bounces just weren’t going our way.”
Three different Buffalo State players recorded goals.
Sophomore Erin Gehen tallied two goals and an assist, sophomore Rachel Lenard scored one goal and had two assists and senior Nikki Kirchberger added one goal and one assist for Buffalo State’s victory.
Red Dragon senior goalie Deanna Meunier recorded 22 saves. Sophomore Justine Silva and senior Sarah Quigley combined for the shutout by turning away a total of 23 shots from Cortland.
Buffalo State scored the first goal of their four-goal victory with 4:38 into the first period with a shot by Lenard. Gehn scored on a power play with 1:51 left in the second period and again 9:04 into the third. Kirchberger finished the scoring with 5:32 left in the game. The Bengals finished 2 for 7 on the power play.
The Red Dragons are currently in sixth place with 11 points. Cortland’s overall record is now 9-12-1 and 5-10-1 in the league. The top six teams quality for the playoffs.
The Red Dragons will face William Smith twice this weekend.
Baseball Head Coach Earns 600th Win
The Red Dragons started their season with a weekend sweep at Salisbury.
By Annie Choiniere, Staff Writer
February 25, 2016
After winning a national championship last season, the nationally top ranked baseball team is off to a good start with a two-game sweep over fourth-ranked Salisbury.
With the victories, the Red Dragon's head coach, Joe Brown, earned his 600th career victory in 16 plus seasons. His .792 winning percentage ranks him first among all active NCAA coaches at any level.
The Red Dragons took an 8-4 victory on Saturday over the host Sea Gulls, and a come from behind 27-13 win on Sunday.
“It was a good to start off with two wins against a quality opponent. Throughout this season everyone is going to give us their best game, so we have to be ready every day. Overall, our one goal is to win it all again, but there's a lot of baseball between now and May,” said senior Connor Griffin.
Sunday's 27-13 win was the result of 24 hits including four home runs and eight walks.
Griffin went 4-for-6 with a double, three RBI and two runs scored. Senior Fabio Ricci finished 3-for-4 with a double, walk, RBI and two runs scored.
Senior Conrad Ziemendorf also added a home run, three RBI and three runs scored.
The Red Dragons started the game a little shaky, allowing a seven-run first inning including three hits, two walks, two hit batters, four wild pitches and a passed ball.
Cortland earned four runs back in the second inning and scored seven in the fourth inning, taking an 11-8 lead.
The Red Dragons added two more runs in the sixth, with RBI's from Ziemendorf and Griffin, and four more in the seventh inning.
Cortland sent 13 batters to the plate in the ninth inning and exploded for eight more runs to complete their scoring.
The Red Dragons opened their season on Saturday with an 8-4 victory scoring four runs in the top of the eighth inning to rally for the win.
Ricci who finished 4-for-5 with a double and two runs led Cortland’s nine-hit offense.
Sophomore Justin Teague and junior Justin Figueroa each went 2-for-4.
Salisbury opened the scoring with two runs in the third inning. The Red Dragons took a brief lead in the fifth inning on a two-run single from junior Nick Hart and an error allowing a third run to score.
Salisbury quickly tied the score at three in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Cortland's rally began with two walks and a bunt single. A throwing error allowed one run to score and a passed ball allowed another run. A two-run single finished the scoring for the Red Dragons.
The Red Dragons will travel to North Carolina for a two-day tournament next weekend.
Boys Secure Third Seed
Men’s basketball sealed the third seed in the SUNYAC tournament after defeating Brockport and Oswego.
By Tyler Byrne, Staff Writer
February 25, 2016
The Red Dragons closed out the season with two major victories over conference opponents.
With the victories, Cortland has secured themselves a top three seed in the SUNYAC tournament and are going in with momentum on their side.
The Red Dragons trailed by 12 going into the half, but never seemed to be phased by that.
The boys came out with the same mentality and slowly ate into Brockport's lead.
Senior JP Reagan's 17 second half points combined with the clutch shooting of senior TJ Hefele led the Red Dragons to a victory down the stretch.
A big conference matchup with rivals Oswego went down to the wire with the Red Dragons pulling away at the end.
Senior Blair Estarfaa led the Red Dragons with 17 points, seven rebounds and four assists.
The game was close throughout, but Cortland pulled away with a second half 12-2 run that stopped any Oswego comeback hopes.
The final score of 72-61 put the Red Dragons right in the mix for the SUNYAC crown.
The Red Dragons will face top-seeded Plattsburgh.